PEP Health Unveils the First Real-Time Trust Score for U.S. Healthcare

Millions of real-world patient experiences now offer hospitals, payers, and providers a measurable view of trust

MINNEAPOLIS, April 29, 2025 /CNW/ - PEP Health, the AI-powered patient experience platform trusted by leading hospitals, payers, and health systems, today announced the launch of its Trust Score, the first real-time, validated metric that quantifies how patients experience and express trust in healthcare.

Built from millions of unsolicited patient narratives and developed alongside a leading U.S. health system, the Trust Score brings long-missing measurement, visibility, and actionability to one of the most critical drivers of health outcomes: patient trust.

Download PEP Health's Trust white paper here.

"In healthcare, trust isn't abstract. It directly impacts outcomes, adherence, and loyalty," said Dr. Mark Lomax, CEO of PEP Health. "For the first time, hospitals, payers, and providers can measure trust in real time, pinpoint when and where it erodes, and take immediate steps to rebuild it."

The Trust Score is already being piloted nationwide, including at ECU Health, a rural health system committed to human-centered care.

"Trust is the foundation of the relationship between healthcare and those they serve. When trust is present in the relationship, patients adhere to treatment plans, seek medical care when needed, and have frank conversations with their care team which is vital to their health planning," said Dr. Julie Kennedy Oehlert, Chief Experience Officer at ECU Health. "This trust also fuels the passion and purpose of those that provide care, insulating against burnout."

More Than a Feeling: Why Trust Now Has a Score

While traditional surveys often struggle with delays, low response rates, and limited reach, PEP Health's Trust Score draws from the real, unprompted voices of patients, capturing their experiences across social media platforms, review sites, and forums. Using advanced machine learning and healthcare-specific natural language processing (NLP) technology, PEP Health analyzes this data into structured insights that reflect the full spectrum of patient experience.

At the core of the Trust Score are Drivers of Trust (such as caring, kindness, effective listening) and Indicators of Trust (such as patient retention and health outcomes)

• 12 Drivers of Trust: The "why" — what builds or erodes trust, such as effective listening and involvement in care decisions.
• 7 Indicators of Trust: The "what" — how trust appears in behavior, such as patient retention, gratitude, and health outcomes.

PEP Health's patient experience insights are validated against national benchmarks including HCAHPS and insurer quality metrics and highlighted in peer-reviewed research published in BMJ Quality & Safety and The Lancet (read more here).

A Strategic Metric for Today's Healthcare Leaders

Trust is no longer just a value statement: it directly affects health equity, financial performance, and community engagement. Internal PEP Health data shows that a one-point decline in patient satisfaction can result in more than $12 million in annual lost revenue for a large health system.

With the Trust Score, healthcare leaders can now:

• Detect and address trust breakdowns in real time
• Benchmark trust across departments, locations, and populations
• Track equity gaps and uncover disparities in patient experience
• Drive targeted improvements that strengthen outcomes, loyalty, and financial stability

"For too long, others have defined what trust should look like in healthcare," continued Dr. Lomax. "It's time to listen to patients themselves. When trust breaks down, patients don't show up, don't open up, and don't follow through. Now, for the first time, we can measure trust and take meaningful action to rebuild it."

Early Access and White Paper

Healthcare leaders can now download PEP Health's new white paper and apply for early access to the Trust Score platform by completing the Early Access request form.

About PEP Health

PEP Health's advanced AI uses healthcare-specific natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning to analyze diverse, unsolicited patient feedback from online sources such as social media, review platforms, and forums, alongside hospital surveys and internal data. By providing a comprehensive, real-time view of patient and community experiences, PEP Health helps healthcare providers gain insights that traditional surveys often miss. This approach enables organizations to understand patient preferences more deeply, focus on what matters most, and align care with evolving expectations.

To learn more, please visit www.pephealth.ai

SOURCE PEP Health

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